Senior Associate and Associate

Location: Sydney

Contract Type: Permanent

MinterEllison is one of Australia’s largest independent law and consulting firms. With a heritage of almost 200 years, we are known for our excellence, and our authentic and enduring relationships with our clients, our people and our communities. Clients seek out MinterEllison to help them solve complex problems every day. We do this by our full-service legal offering and complementary consulting offering.

We offer opportunities to work on industry-leading mandates for top-tier clients, while being part of a high-performing and collaborative team that values excellence, diversity of thought, curiosity, and inclusion. We value our people and empower them to achieve their ambitions - with the support, trust and autonomy to grow their careers in meaningful ways.

At MinterEllison, we're leading the way with AI and other emerging technologies, powering innovation right across our firm. You will have the opportunity to engage with AI tools we've built, and other external AI tools, to enhance efficiencies and excellence internally and with our clients.

We support sustainable ways of working regarding how, when and where you work and offer a wide range of social, financial and health benefits (see www.minterellison.com/-/media//Minter-Ellison/Files/Careers/MinterEllison-Employee-Benefits-2025.ashx)

OUR TEAM

MinterEllison's Sydney Projects, Infrastructure and Construction team is consistently ranked as Band 1 by APL500 and Chambers.  With over 30 lawyers, the team is led by partners Peter Pether, Andrew Hales, Claire Tait, Meredith Riley, Simon Harvey and Matthew Thomson. Our client base is diverse and they come to us for innovative solutions to their individual project needs, delivered by some of the most prominent lawyers in the sector. The team's Partners are recognised as leaders in the construction and PPP industry for their commerciality and their depth of knowledge and expertise. A position within the team therefore offers the opportunity to learn from the best.

Our team has worked on, and continues to work on, projects which shape Australia's cities and regions.  We offer our clients an end-to-end solution, from project structuring, procurement, financing, contract documentation and negotiation through to contract administration and dispute resolution, allowing us to see the project from conception until completion. We consistently act as lead advisor on nationally significant construction and infrastructure projects and disputes.  We are focussed on providing end-to-end legal support on infrastructure projects – from project structuring, advice on procurement options, financing, tender strategy, contract documentation and negotiation through to contract administration, maintenance issues and dispute resolution.

YOUR OPPORTUNITIES  

We are currently looking for back-end lawyers to join our team at Senior Associate and Associate level. You will be an experienced major projects, infrastructure and construction lawyer with a focus on dispute resolution.

To be successful in this role you will need to demonstrate solid dispute resolution experience such as advising on real-time contract administration issues, security of payment disputes, building regulation and compliance, and large-scale litigation and arbitration proceedings.

In these roles you will work alongside our impressive back-end Partners Claire Tait, Andrew Hales and Peter Pether, and their growing team of back-end and front-end lawyers. There will also be close contact with other leading lawyers working in the broader national team on large scale projects within other jurisdictions.  The back-end work will involve representing top tier contractors and principals in respect of litigation, arbitration, and adjudication proceedings, and dispute management through the life of the project.  We are looking for lawyers to have carriage of matters, with the experience and confidence to engage with clients and be a team player. 

WHAT YOU NEED

We welcome applications from Lawyers with a minimum 3-8 years PQE who have strong dispute resolution experience in the projects, infrastructure and construction industry looking to cement your career in a market leading practice. In addition to your legal knowledge, you will have an ability to manage strong client relationships and complex disputes with minimal supervision and can provide guidance and mentoring to the junior lawyers in the team.

You will also have: 

• a commercial approach to all matters
• superior drafting ability and a strong attention to detail
• the ability to work in a highly collaborative fast-paced environment
• excellent communication skills, both written and verbal and
• resilience and a commitment to excellence that matches our own.

How to apply

We encourage applications from people of all ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds, genders (including trans or gender diverse), LGBTQ+ people and those with carer responsibilities. We particularly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to apply.

We prefer to connect with people directly, so please submit your CV by clicking on the 'Apply' button. We encourage all applications, including if you do not meet all the criteria listed for the role. Your application will also enable us to consider you for other opportunities that may be available at MinterEllison.

If you are currently a MinterEllison employee, please apply through the internal careers page.

If you would like further information, require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or for a confidential discussion, please contact lisa.fleming@minterellison.com.